serve as a Professor and Chair. In my role as a professor, I teach courses, advise students, conduct research, and provide service to the University and profession. As the Chair of the School of Architecture, I provide administrative leadership for the school. This entails many different responsibilities, including strategic planning, faculty and staff management, curriculum oversight, student affairs, admissions and recruitment, financial administration, collaboration with the profession and local architectural community, and communications. What are your goals for the School of Architecture? My goals for the School of Architecture are to create an inclusive culture and educational environment that supports our students, faculty, and staff in executing our mission. We are committed to educating our students to be a transformative force that, through inclusive leadership, fundamentally changes our profession. The primary goals for the School of Architecture are to: • Foster a culture of innovation within our educational programs, research activities, community engagement and communication efforts • Strengthen our educational programs and enrich students’ experiences • Increase research opportunities for faculty and students, including interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary projects • Improve collaborative efforts with the architectural industry, focusing on educational and research opportunities. We developed a five-year Strategic Plan with specific actions that have been or will be undertaken to achieve these goals. We are already making great progress, evident in the highest number of applications for our graduate and undergraduate programs, faculty members’ recognition for research and creative practice, and students’ accomplishments. Please explain the new programs and classes offered at the School of Architecture. We have a lot of exciting developments at the School of Architecture. Several years ago, the School developed an integrated curriculum model for our undergraduate and accredited graduate programs. This means that our architectural design studios are integrated with other classes (design communications, history and theory, research methods, building technology), where students apply knowledge obtained in different courses to their design studio projects. This is quite innovative and reflects the architectural profession. This approach to architectural education also requires close collaboration and coordination among faculty members that teach various classes. Last year, we developed and implemented an assessment plan for the analysis and continuous improvement of our educational programs. We are already seeing the benefits of this plan since we are evaluating teaching objectives, methods, and students’ outcomes and adjusting our curriculum accordingly. Perkins&Will Research Journal covers. Ajla Aksamija is the founder of this first, open access peer-reviewed research journal coming from the architectural profession and served as the editor for 14 years. 22 REFLEXION | 2022-23 | AIA Utah
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